Tuesday, January 27, 2015

Monday, July 21, 2014

Governor Chris Christie recently visited Iowa - ostensibly to raise money for the National Governor's Association - stirring speculation that he's setting up a presidential run and trying to put "Bridgegate" behind him. Karen Tumulty, national political correspondent for The Washington Post, discusses the trip's political implications.

Thursday, October 11, 2012

For almost two decades, Iowa has produced more corn than any other state in the country. But this year a severe drought has hit the state hard, and that’s having an impact on everything from animal feed to ethanol production. Radio Iowa’s O. Kay Henderson talks about how the corn crop could affect how the swing state votes next month. We’ll also look at the candidates’ recent trips to the state, where early voting is already under way.

Monday, October 01, 2012

Election day is still more than a month away, but early voting has already begun. Voters in South Dakota and Idaho began casting their ballots on September 21, while voters in Iowa lined up outside polling stations late last week. In the upcoming weeks, dozens more states will open their voting booths.

Monday, July 23, 2012

President Barack Obama won Iowa in 2008 by nine percentage points, but his support here is softening as his approval rating and favor with independent voters has dipped.

The disappointed Iowa voters I met, though, aren't convinced that Mitt Romney is a viable alternative, particularly because of his wealth and his failure in their eyes to adequately address the struggling middle class.

Tuesday, February 14, 2012

Chinese vice president Xi Jinping, the man expected to become China's top leader in the fall, is in Washington this week as part of a five-day trip to the U.S. The visit is expected to set the tone for bilateral relations over the next decade, particularly where economic ties are concerned. On Wednesday, he'll head to the city of Muscantine, Iowa, to reunite with a family he visited there in 1985 and to sign a trade agreement with soybean farmers there.

Thursday, January 05, 2012

Will Mitt Romney secure the Republican candidacy? How far will the economy determine the course of the US election? Is Obama's position looking weak or is he poised for a better second term? Anna Fifield, White House correspondent, and Edward Luce, chief US commentator, join Gideon Rachman for a discussion of what's next after Iowa.

Wednesday, January 04, 2012

What would an anthropologist make of the curious ritual of the Iowa caucuses? Part town meeting, part beer party, part coffee clatch with hot dishes, the Iowa caucuses may seem like an odd way to elect a politician to an outside observer. Every four years, the world media tries to decipher the curious liturgy of this bit of democracy in the heartland of America. The BBC's Paul Adams filed this report about looking at an American electoral tradition from a foreigner's perspective.

Wednesday, January 04, 2012

A sixth place showing should have been Waterloo for the girl from Waterloo. Instead, she vowed to head to South Carolina (Santorum, in a nice touch, made clear New Hampshire was next). After being burned by unlimited and anonymous negative campaign funding, Gingrich may just become the newest ally to overturn Citizens United.

Tuesday, January 03, 2012

While many focus on who the winner of the Iowa Caucus will be later this evening, the true question to be answered is whether certain candidates ranking near the bottom in the minds of voters will get the message that their best course of action is to drop out.

Monday, January 02, 2012

The Republican presidential hopefuls spent their New Year's weekend trying to differentiate themselves from each other and convince Iowans to caucus for them on Tuesday. Front-runner Mitt Romney tried to fend off a new challenge from Rick Santorum, who has surged in recent days to the top of the polls. Ron Paul, who spent his New Year at home in Texas, also stands to make a strong showing in Tuesday's caucuses. The Democratic Party has stepped up efforts in Iowa as well, targeting Romney for his record of laying off workers while CEO of private equity firm Bain Capital.

Friday, December 30, 2011

Iowa is not representative of the rest of the U.S. demographically, yet the state's caucuses every four years have overwhelming influence on the presidential nomination process. It is this idea that has some critics saying the caucus system itself is inherently flawed. The number of states holding caucuses — in addition to the amount of money spent and extremist positions espoused — have grown exponentially over the past few years, and are a far cry from their grassroots, populist origins.

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